LIVING A LIFE EXTRAORDINARY
A few nights ago while digging around my desk I knocked over a crumpled stack of papers that I had wedged into a corner. Taking a closer peek at my scribblings and scratches, I realized these were the to-do and packing lists I had written up before I left on my travels. Scanning them became…
Like you, I go to the bathroom. Perhaps not like you, I suspect I have a bladder the size of a pistachio. Such physical predicaments have helped me accrue a certain expertise in the realm of public restrooms. Still, there’s nothing like 7 months on the road in developing nations to put to the test…
Since my return home, I realize that there are questions everyone wants to know (What was your favorite country?) and then there are questions everyone REALLY wants to know (Where did you see the hottest people?). During one particularly lengthy leg of the USA road trip, Ayaz and I pondered every aspect of our trip…
I’m writing this post sitting in the exact same living room, the exact same leather couch seat where I sat just over 7 months ago when I announced my plans to travel around the globe. And it’s weird. Not bad, mind you, but definitely strange. Seven months ago when I wrote my first blog post…
It’s only been a few days back in the States, but I’ve been happily embracing all that is America at it’s best – the Grand Canyon’s splendor, the Hoover Dam’s enormity, Vegas’s insanity – and worst – LA newscasters and their ridiculous work attire, for instance. And it’s funny, the little things that get me…
It’s unbelievable to me, but by the time this post publishes, I will be back in the United States and starting the 3-week-long cross country road trip that will get me home. I’ll have spent my final night in a foreign hotel in Auckland, NZ, and truthfully, it’s surreal. I clearly remember my first night…
At this stage of the trip – the start of month 6 – a few things have happened. First, I am down to a mere 1 pair of pants in my backpack. Second, the weather has taken a turn for cold and getting colder as I arrive in New Zealand in 3 days. Something had…
As my arrival in Australia drew near, I regretted having to bid farewell to Southeast Asia and return to a world so similar to my own. Part of the great adventure of this trip has been constant exposure to worlds, foods, architecture, religions, clothing and ritual so very foreign to me. I’ve thrilled over daily…
Does life get much sweeter than hopping longtail boats among Thailand’s perfect Andaman Coast islands? Um, that’s a rhetorical question. Answer: NO. It absolutely does not. Here’s why: 1. The view from your beach blanket, more often than not, looks quite a bit like this: 2. Once you’re happily ensconced on said island, you stay…
Move over, wheel. I’ve declared the Electronic Mosquito Bat to be the world’s greatest invention. Now, I’ve been told I’m prone to exagerration. Ok fine. I admit, stretching the facts, particularly at the expense of a good story, may be my, um, gift. But this time, truly, I can’t overstate or stress my hunch enough….
To be fair, this postcard-worthy deserted beach on Koh Kong Island off the coast of Cambodia isn’t specifically the first and only reason why “I left it all behind” to travel to globe – but it certainly counts for something. Seriously, I left to explore, to be changed and learn and grow, and trek to…
I admit it now, a full 3 months into my trip around the world: I don’t actually need the headlamp I packed with all the pride of a novice outdoorswoman. And I’m still not sure what I thought I’d be affixing to my backpack with the2 carabiners now in my possession, but I have yet…